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Probe Start, Pulse Start and E-Ballasts
TECHNICAL POWERPOINT

INCOMPATIBILITY
If a consumer bought a stereo, they’d expect the system
components to be compatible.
If a consumer buys a lighting system, they would also expect
the system components to work together properly.
What if consumers were intentionally, or ignorantly, sold a
mis-matched lighting system that was sure to fail?
Electronic ballast and probe-start lamp failures have been
happening for almost 10 years.

PROBLEM SOLVING
Recognizing that lamp/ballast conflicts were
running amok in the industry, Solistek hired the
world’s leading light and e-ballast engineering
group, GAS Technologies, to uncover the hidden
truths behind chronic electronic ballast and
probe-start lamp failures.

Metal Halide magnetic ballasts have 2 main components.
1 Transformer & 1 Capacitor

HPS Ballasts have a transformer, a capacitor and an ignitor

Traditional metal halide lamps
use probe-start technology.
To start the lamp, a discharge is
created between the starting probe
electrode and the operating
electrode.
The electrons travel across the arc
tube to the other operating electrode
to start the lamp.
Pulse start metal halide lamps do
not have a starting probe and require a
1-5kv ignition instead.
After the lamp is started, the bi-metal
switch opens up and takes the
starting probe electrode out of the
circuit.
The lamp has to cool down before
that bi-metal switch will close again,
allowing the lamp to restart properly.

IMPROPER LAMPS CAN BREAK BALLASTS
50/60 Hertz Probe Start metal halide lamps should
never be used on high frequency electronic ballasts.
When the lamp fails, the ballast will try to re-start it.
When the bi-metal switch is open, the lamp wont restart.
The electronic ballast will be damaged trying to
continually restart a lamp that won’t restart until the
bi-metal switch closes.

SWITCHABLE BALLASTS
There’s a switch on these magnetic ballasts that can be set for
MH (metal halide) or HPS (high pressure sodium).
The switch either puts the ignitor in the circuit or takes it out
HPS lamps require the ignitor, Probe Start MH lamps don’t.

QUESTIONS
Why are there no “switchable” electronic ballasts?
Fact: HPS lamps need an ignitor, and probe start MH lamps don’t.
Why do the majority of high frequency e-ballast makers claim
consumers can use probe start MH lamps on their ballasts?
If lamp & ballast companies understand this fact, they didn’t share
that information with consumers to avoid lamp & ballast failures.
If they didn’t understand this fact, then it’s just poor engineering.

CONSUMER DIS-SERVICE
The two largest US distributors of indoor garden lighting
have known about the incompatibility of probe start MH
lamps and e-ballasts for many years, but continue to sell
them together and never inform their customers.
In the end, the customer suffers from having to deal with
mismatched lighting components and premature failure of
their gear.
The growers crop also suffers because lighting system
failures can be devastating to plants.

METAL HALIDE LAMPS YOU SHOULD NOT USE
ON HIGH FREQUENCY ELECTRONIC BALLASTS
SunMaster
(Probe Start)
Plantmax
(Probe Start)

METAL HALIDE LAMPS YOU SHOULD NOT
USE ON HIGH FREQUENCY ELECTRONIC BALLASTS
Venture brand lamps
(Probe Start)
Hortilux Blue
(Probe Start)

Pulse Start MH Lamps you can use on
Solistek Electronic Ballasts